Falling Earth
by Black Dragon 42
Summary: Aliens have invaded. But have you ever wondered, if aliens exist out in space, what could be living on earth? Zada Stone is a member of the 2nd Mass, and something not exactly human. Join her as she struggles to keep her family together, their secret safe, and all while falling in love with another member, Hal Mason. Rated T for some cursing later on. Hal/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I followed Daniel Weaver quietly with a few of the other fighters of the Second Mass. We were sent to gather food, from anywhere that was left. Someone apparently was seen or something, and the skitters were on to us. We were fighting when Daniel grabbed my arm; I turned to him.

"Zada, we're falling back," he said.

I nodded and shouted for everyone to fall back. As we were running back, we ran into Tom Mason and his son, Hal. He told us that the barricade was lost.

Hal and I locked eyes, and he nodded at me. I was on good terms with Hal; I guess you could call us friends. I nodded back at him.

"We're falling back," Weaver told them. "Backbay is lost."

"But, if they take Backbay, they take the city," Tom argued.

"No kidding. Porter's calling us in."

Suddenly, one of the aliens' airships shot what looked like a bomb. When it blew, it looked like when you put food coloring into water; only white and in the sky. There was a lot of wind that blew out from the explosion. Enough wind that I had to close my eyes, and my braided hair to flow behind me. We all ran after someone came running to us.

When we got within the limits of the hideout, we slowed down to a walk. One of the youngest fighters in the Second Mass, Jimmy, asked some questions and Hal was the one who answered him.

"Steven Jameson, Jared's cousin, and a bunch of guys I didn't know," he answered.

I walked between Dan and Tom, then over to where Karen was. She smiled at me and I returned it. We were good friends and she was one of the few who I trust with my secret.

"Say, could you listen in on the meeting?" Karen asked. "Come on, you know you want to."

I laughed at her, but nodded my head anyway. I was curious, so I focused on finding Porter's voice. When I found him, he was acknowledging Tom into the meeting. "Gents! The city's lost, so we're on the move," he announced. "We're going to split up, go underground where we can hide and scavenge."

"We can't leave the city," Tom objected. "They have prisoners, what about the harnessed kids."

"Tom, you're not the only guy with a kid that's MIA," Porter said. "We're all in this together, and you've got two other sons to worry about."

"Okay, well, I have to agree with him there," Weaver interjected. "We can't leave the city."

"We've got no choice. We've picked this area clean of weapons and food, and these skitter areal sensors are beginning to pick up units of 5- 6 hundred humans."

"Well, I'll tell you what we need to do: We need to stay here and we need to fight," Weaver argued.

"Listen to me Weaver," Porter ordered. "We are splitting up into units of three hundred; one hundred fighters, two hundred civilians each. I've already sent out nine of these units; you're the last three.

"Anderson, I want you to take the Tenth Mass North along the shore till you get to Marblehead. Sam, you've got Jefferies as your second-in-command. You'll move northwest along route three till you get to Reverie. Weaver, I'm giving you the Second Mass to replace Jameson. I'm also giving you Tom as your second-in-command. You move west and go underground somewhere around Acton."

Then Weaver began to argue with Porter about staying in the city. I just sighed; typical Dan. I stopped listening there when I saw Hal walking over to us. I greeted him with a smile as he sat down, and he returned it.

We began to talk about scouting missions and the bikes we use. I could feel eyes on me, and looked over to find Dan starring at me. I quickly excused myself and went over to him.

"Hey," I greeted.

All he did was nod at me. "Porter gave me the 2nd Mass, and Tom Mason as my second," he said, looking past me at Hal, who was no doubt watching us. Dan looked at me and saw that I wasn't surprised.

"What have I told you about listening in?" he scolded. "You should be more careful, someone could figure it out."

"No one is going to figure it out," I snapped back in a semi whisper. "No one even believes we exist."

"Aliens are invading, and you don't think that people won't believe in you," he snapped back, then sighed. "Just be more careful. Get some rest; we're going out in the morning."

I nodded as he walked away, and I went off to find my younger cousin, Tama. When I found her, she was helping Anne Glass, the 2nd Mass' doctor, and Lourdes Delgado, her assistant, with the stretcher cases. I stood off observing her as she worked.

Tama had always wanted to be a doctor, and had even begun to teach herself at age 9. Even though she was just 14, Tama was a quick study and learned fast from Dr. Glass. Just being 14, she was very pretty; though, I think more than me. Tama was 5'5" and had a narrow build. She had short, chin length, dark brown hair, soft light brown eyes, and olive skin. Surprisingly, her weight still was average for her age; even with the food shortage.

I on the other hand, was 5'8" and had a somewhat broad build. My thick black hair was usually braided and reached my waist, with bangs framing my face. I had clear gray-green eyes and fair skin, which was lightly tanned. Of course, more of my weight was focused in muscle, since I was a fighter.

Tama looked up and met my gaze and smiled. I watched as she finished up with her patient, and came over to me. She gave me a hug and squeezed once before releasing.

"I'm glad you made it back in one piece," she joked.

I only smiled at her. "Weaver is the new captain of the 2nd with Tom as his second. We move out in the morning; you should get some rest before then."

She nodded and walked over to Anne to give her the news.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up and got dressed in a green camouflage crop top, dark green camouflage cargo pants, and black lace up combat boots. I pulled on my hooded leather jacket then strapped on my shoulder and thigh holsters, and loaded my guns in. Loading up my knives, I looked over at Tama.

She was wrapped up in an old blanket that we found in a house; before we joined the 2nd Mass. Tama looked so small and sweet. I sighed as I finished braiding my hair, then bent down next to her. I shook her shoulder slightly, trying to wake her up. She groaned and buried her head deeper in the blanket.

"Tama," I called softly. "T it's time to get up."

The brunette girl slowly opened her tired eyes and looked at me. She nodded slightly, before slowly sitting up. Tama yawned as she got dressed. While she got her stuff together, I was putting on my black gloves and packet up my own things.

"Go help Anne with the rest of the patients," I told her. "I'm going to find Dan."

After leaving our room, she went off to find Anne, and I went to find some food; before going to look for Dan. I found him standing off to the side after I had gotten food. I walked up to him and he nodded in acknowledgement of my presence.

"I want you to make sure that the scouts have their bikes ready by the time we leave," he ordered. I nodded as I chewed on my food. Dan was never one for small talk.

My eyes searched the crowd for Karen and Hal as I took a few bites. When I found them, I waved to Dan and walked over to them. As I finished my food, I put my dish in one of the bins as I walked by.

"Hey guys," I greeted, and sat down next to Karen. They both greeted me in turn, and smiled at me. "Weaver wants the scout bikes to be ready by the time we leave."

Karen and Hal both nodded to me, but Hal looked at me with a strange expression, like he was trying to figure something out.

"What?" I asked. Hal seemed to be at a loss for words with both me and Karen staring at him.

"Well, it's just… you always follow Weaver's orders," he admitted. "You do it without question, even before he became captain of the 2nd. I'm just wondering: Why?"

I just stared at him with no emotion. I could feel Karen look at me worriedly; she once asked that same question, and my anger got the better of me. Taking a deep breath through my nose, I gave Hal a leveled look and answered with mostly the truth. "I respect him and trust his judgment," I almost snapped. "Maybe you should try doing the same."

I got up and stormed off to my room to grab my things. We would be leaving soon, and I still had to get my own bike ready. While cleaning my bike, I felt Dan's presence come up behind me. I turned around as he got closer.

"How are we doing?" he asked.

"Everyone should be done soon," I replied. I could tell by the way the army Colonel raised an eyebrow, that he could hear the edge in my voice. I was still fuming a little over what Hal had said. Shaking my head, I was silently telling him that it was nothing to worry about. He nodded in turn, and walked away.

When we finally took off, I felt saddened by this. The only reason that Tama and I even came up to Boston was to find the rest of my family. My father, Jack, my older brother, Jayden, and twin brother, Jared, were supposed to meet us there. We lost Tama's parents, Denver and Jessica, and my mother, Amy, along the way to a mech attack. Tama and I had been looking all over Boston before we were found by a small group of fighters, which was being led by Weaver.

The 2nd Mass reached a small food store in Belmont, and stopped for a break. I was leaning up against my bike as I watched Dan and Tom discuss what they were going to do next. It was fairly easy to listen in at this distance.

Tom suggested that some of the fighters go back to one of the food shops. Dan agreed, but was only going to give him the pickup truck and six fighters; plus keeping all the heavy stuff. After Dan announced that we were going to wait at the Littleton Bridge, Karen walked up to me. "So, you going to come?" she asked.

I was about to answer, when Dan walked by and answered, "No, I need her here."

I just shook my head and looked back at Karen. "Sorry," I apologized, to which she just shook her head at me. "Why don't you ask Jimmy? He's a good fighter, and it'll be good for him."

She nodded and walked away to find him, while I went off to find Dai. When I found him, Karen was just walking away from him. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," he said with a smile.

"I'm guessing that you're going with Tom?" I asked and he nodded. I pulled out a stick of C4, and handed it to him. "Don't tell anyone I gave this to you, okay?"

He gave me a smirk and nodded, before walking off to find Tom.

When we left, and made it to the Littleton Bridge, we made camp and waited the night for Tom and his team to come back. The next day, I was sitting with Dan around the maps, planning where we would go to make camp in Acton. Tom walked in with Hal, Dai, Anthony, Jimmy, and Karen. Tom was carrying a large pack of bottled water, and he held it over the table before just letting it drop. Dan managed to keep the astonished look off his face.

"Well, what took you so long?" he countered. Tom laughed at this. "So, how much did you get?"

"A truck load, enough for a few days," Tom answered. He then turned to the others. "Hal, stay here; everyone else, wait outside." Turning back to Dan as everyone cleared out, Tom turned serious. "My son, Ben, is alive."

"What?"

"Hal saw him," Tom explained. "After we take the Acton Armory, I'm going to be weaponing up to go get him."

"So am I," Hal declared.

"Are you?" Dan countered. "Well, I'm your commanding officer, and I say you're not going back. We're not going back."

Tom stepped forward, around the table. "What would you do to get your kids back?"

I could see Dan's mask falter at the mention of his kids. It was a sore subject for him; he won't even talk about it with me.

"You'll never kill enough of them, to get him back," he whispered.

"They die just like us," Tom replied. "You just have to get close." Then he left with Hal, to have a small thing for his youngest, Matt.

The small moment of peace and normalcy, we had to leave again. We were headed for a small meadow about a few hours away. As I got on my bike, I silently wondered what we would find there.

* * *

A/N: I was unsure about how to end it, so I am sorry about the strange ending. Please tell me what you think about it! Reviews are welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I stood back with Hal, Karen, Anthony, Jimmy and his dog, Nemo, as Tom and Dai ran forward to check how clear it was. Dan sent me with Tom and his group to scout out the Acton Armory. I wasn't clear to why, but I couldn't really argue with him. However, Hal and I hadn't really talked since I snapped at him. Tom and Dai coming back brought me out of my thoughts, and back to the task at hand.

"Who's got the ball?" Tom whispered.

Hal handed his father the ball, but started to tease him. "Think you can make it that far old man?"

"Five million dollars says that you can't make the front steps."

"Make that a stick of gum and we got a bet," Hal chuckled.

I couldn't help but give a small smile at that. It made me miss the ways my brothers and I would tease each other.

Hal threw the ball, hitting the front steps, with Nemo running after it and Tom handing his son a stick of gum. A mech came out from behind the building, and when Nemo kept barking at the mech, Jimmy got out of hiding. "Nemo come back!" he shouted.

He ran to go get him, but the mech then turned to him. The mech took aim and Tom grabbed Jimmy, pulling him out of the way. The mech fired causing an explosion. We all took off one by one as Tom, Jimmy and Nemo came back.

The next morning, I woke up in a king size bed in one of the houses that we camped in. I got out of bed and dressed in a long sleeved, dark green, distressed shirt, dark tan flare jeans, and lace up, black biker boots. After I woke up Tama, I left her to get ready, and got in line for food. It was oatmeal again, but it was food, so I wasn't going to complain. I decided to eat with Dan and some other fighters today. I had just sat down and started to eat, when Tom came up and started his report.

"No sign of any skitters, but where ever there's a mech," he said.

"Weapons inside?" Dan asked.

"Didn't go in, didn't think that it was worth taking it on and attracting skitters," he explained.

"You were to be discreet," Dan responded.

"Well, we had a little break down in discipline," Tom explained further. "We drew fire."

"Who?"

"Jimmy."

"He's a good fighter," Dan commented. "Go back tonight, find out for sure."

The both of them walked away arguing. I finished my food and walked to put my dishes away. I walked away to the field where the civilians were camped, and began to look for Tom. When I found him, he was walking with Scott next to the creek.

"Hey Tom, Scott," I greeted.

"Hey Zada," Scott greeted back.

"What's up?" Tom asked.

"Can I talk to you Tom?" I asked. Scott nodded and walked off with a wave to the two of us. "I know that you are going to go after your son, Ben, after we take the armory."

"That's right," he responded.

"I want to come with you."

He looked shocked at my request. "Why would you want to do that? Plus, would Weaver agree to this?"

I chuckled a little. "I want to help you get back your son," I explained. "I have two brothers and a father out there, and I don't even know if their alive. I have a chance to make a family whole, and I'll do what I can to help with that."

Tom's expression softened and nodded to say he understood. "What about Weaver?"

"Let me handle Weaver, okay?" He nodded and I began to walk away.

"Zada," he called. I stopped and turned around. "Thank you." I nodded back to him and walked off to gather what I would need for tonight.

That night, while I was gearing up, Dan had Jimmy stay back, and had Click come with us instead. Something about needing someone bigger in case we found weapons. But I knew Jimmy was smarter than that.

We all ran to the armory, and went inside. I was between Anthony and Click, following Anthony down the steps. My hearing picked up on the twang of a bow string, right before an arrow stuck itself in Click, and then another. Click began to fire his gun, not aiming, before he fell to the ground. We all ducked down as Anthony grabbed Click, even though he knew that Click was going to die. Tom made a signal asking if Click was still breathing, to which Anthony shook his head.

"What do you want?" Tom asked the mysterious group.

"Well, you and your guns," a voice answered. The sound of a mech outside caught my attention. "Hear that? If you open fire, it'll draw the mech in; whereas if you don't do what I say, we will take you out without as much as a whisper."

"Why don't you shine a light on yourself?" Tom asked, raising his weapon in the direction of the voice. "So I can see who I'm talking to."

"Why don't I shine a light on these two?" I looked around the corner to see a light on Hal and Karen, I growled quietly. "Weapons on the ground or these two get skewered."

Tom nodded, so I put my weapons down. One of the guys came over, grabbed my gun, and pulled Anthony and I away; right before the mech came through the ceiling. A bag was placed over my head and my hands were tied behind my back. I was pushed down a hallway; at least it felt like a hallway. My hearing and sense of smell told me that it was an underground tunnel. Ahead of us, one of the men was complaining and howling in pain about his leg. Apparently, Click got him in the leg.

The scent of the blood told me that he nicked an artery.

We were eventually sat down in seats, and the bags were taken off. I looked around to observe where I was, and it looked like a high school auditorium. Looking at what would be the stage, I saw the paled body of a skitter. While I was observing the room, the man who kidnapped us was washing his hands, and talking to the others about his brother, the one who was shot.

"So, where ya from?" the man asked.

"Cambridge," Tom answered quickly. He sat beside me with Karen on my other side. I looked at him, and he gave a look that said, "Play along." I gave a slight nod, and Tom looked back to the man.

"And how are things in Cambridge these days?" he questioned.

"Worse than they are here," Tom replied.

"So, what are ya? Family? Well, obviously not all."

"No, just came together a couple of months ago."

"And where'd you get the weapons?" the man questioned.

"Dead cops, national guard."  
"So, what do we got?" the man asked sarcastically, and he began to go down the line. "Papa Smirf, sexy biker chick, sexy freedom fighter girl, strapping young man, black, looks like a gag banger, and an oriental of some sort. We'll take the girls and the boy. The black?" The others of the group said no. "What about Chan?"

"Asians are good at fixin' things," one said.

"That's true," our captor agreed. "We're not going to let you drive." The others laughed at his joke. "Which brings us right back to Papa…Smirf." Our captor had grabbed a sword, and tapped both of Tom's shoulders with it when he said the last two words. He then knelt down in front of Tom.

"See now, I'm figuring that since you're the only one willing to speak up, that you're their leader. Need another leader boys?" There was a chorus of no's. "Didn't think so." The leader then pulled out a revolver from his thigh holster, and put it to Tom's head.

"We can get you more guns!" Hal exclaimed.

"Where? I thought that you were just strangers thrown together by fate?"

"We're with the resistance," Hal objected, obviously worried for his father's life. "We're part of the Second Massachusetts."

"The what?" our captor asked skeptically. "Well, how revolutionary war of you. What'd ya have? Fifes and tri-cornered hats?"

"No, we have guns," Hal said firmly.

The man paused, and he seemed to be considering something. Suddenly, he leapt forward, and grabbed Hal, pulling him to the floor. "What you have, punk, is a 50 cal mounted to the back of a GTO. You have one hundred and eleven fighters, and two hundred civilians camped out in the big meadow," he said with all seriousness. "I've been watcher you; for two days. That's why we were staking out the armory, figured you'd be looking for guns."

The leader pulled out a knife, and got on top of Hal. "I'm not going to kill your old man." He then put the knife to Hal's throat.

Everyone, especially Tom, started to thrash. I sat still, and let out a menacing, feral growl at the man. The man looked at me in surprise and disbelief. Everyone stopped and stared at me, but I didn't care. I kept my eyes set on the man in front of me.

He was about to move his arm that had the knife, and I let out a more quiet snarl. The man stopped, and then slowly moved the knife away from Hal. I relaxed my shoulders a little to show that was what I wanted. Our captor seemed to understand, because he turned his attention back to Tom.

"He is your old man, right?" he asked. "I couldn't imagine you shouting out like that if he wasn't kin." The man's eyes flickered to me, which I was glaring at him. "You know what?" He took the knife and cut Hal's hands loose, and dragged him to his feet. "We're not going to kill anybody, not yet. You're all way to valuable."

"So, here's what we're going to do: we're going to make a deal. You lot for the fifty cal in the back of that car." Tom started to shake his head. "Maggie," the man called. "Please escort young prince charming here back to town, so he can bring the terms of our deal to the supreme allied commander of the Second Massachusetts."

A young woman stepped out from behind the stage, and made her way to take one of the bags. She had a hood over her head, and her wavy blonde hair fell out of the front. I couldn't see her eyes very well, but I recognized her scent. _'Margret,'_ I thought.

She and my older brother, Jared, had been friends when they were kids, and she used to come over to our house a lot. Margret was also the only one my brother trusted with our family secret.

She came up behind Hal, put the bag over his head, and then pushed him to start walking out of the theater. After they left, the men got us up and led us out of the auditorium, but left Tom where he was. We were led out into the hallway, and were shoved in to what used to be a janitor's closet. They closed and locked the door, so I sat down, and leaned against one of the shelves. The others hesitated, but after Karen sat down, Anthony and Dai followed suit.

"Do you think Weaver will make the trade?" Karen asked a little fear in her voice. I looked over at her, and looked her in the eyes. She took a deep breath. "Not even for you?"

I just scoffed. "Especially not for me."

"But you're his favorite," Anthony objected.

I looked at him. "Is that what everyone thinks?" I snapped.

"Then why do you listen to everything he says?" Dai asked.

I looked at him with a harsh look. When he just gave me a leveled look, I sighed and leaned back again, closing my eyes. "I listen to him because he's family," I explained. "He's married to my mother's cousin, so I knew him before all this." I opened my eyes, and looked at each of them in the eyes. "What would you do for one of the only family you had left?"

They all looked at each other, and then looked down. We sat in silence for a moment, before I spoke up again.

"I want to ask that you not tell anyone what happened in the auditorium," I told them. Anthony and Dai looked at me in shock, while Karen gave me an understanding look. "Weaver already knows about it, but he doesn't want anyone else to know about it. He would be absolutely furious at me and anyone else if he knew," I explained.

Anthony and Dai shared a look, but Karen gave me a firm nod. "Of course," she said.

I nodded at her, and then looked at Anthony and Dai. Then both looked hesitant, but nodded anyway. I smiled at me. "Thank you."

At that moment, the door was unlocked, and swung open. In the doorway stood Margret, her hood was down and you could finally see her light brown eyes. As soon as they met my gray-green eyes, they widened, and you could see recognition flash in them. She quickly covered it up, and pointed a silver handgun at us. "Get up," she commanded.

We did as she said, and she grabbed Karen before dragging her out into the hallway. The other men grabbed Anthony, Dai, and myself, and dragged us down the hallway; back into the auditorium.

Hal was back, and I saw Anne was working on the leader's brother. The man woke up, and asked what happened. The man holding me pushed my roughly into a seat between Hal and Tom. The leader of the group was talking to his men about going to rob the Second Mass.

After they left, it was silent. Everyone was in their own thoughts. Then Hal spoke to me. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

I looked at him surprised, and he looked at me sheepishly. "I forgive you," I told him. Hal relaxed considerately, and we smiled at each other.

I could feel eyes on me, so I looked over to the stage. Billy, as he was called, was staring at me, and I could see lust in his eyes. As soon as I looked away, he spoke. "Get up," he commanded.

"He's talking to you," Margret said, pointing her gun at me. Everyone looked from her to me as I slowly stood up, and took a few steps forward.

"Turn around," Billy ordered.

I hesitantly started to slowly turn around where I stood. When I had my back to him, I heard Billy wolf whistle.

"Look at you," Billy said. "You are a pretty one." When I faced him again, he gave me a creepy smile. "We're going to have a good time, you know that?"

I looked to Margret, and her eyes said that she seemed to be remembering something. She met my stare, and I understood what happened. My eyes widened, but quickly turned to a glare that I turned on Billy. He only laughed. "You're a feisty one," he commented with a smirk. "I like them feisty."

Margret stood up, and turned around to speak to Anne. "Hey, is Billy gonna live?"

Anne was hesitant, not knowing that she was being spoken to, until Billy turned to her. "Huh? Oh, yes, if he doesn't get infected."

"Hey, what are you askin' her that –" Billy was cut off by Margret shooting him in the chest. I quickly ducked as Margret turned and shot "Cue ball," as he was called with the other gun under her arm.

Everyone was stunned by what just happened, and no one moved. Margret was putting her guns back in their holsters under her arms. She looked at Anne again as she spoke. "When they grabbed me three months ago, Billy…" she trailed off. "Let's just say he deserved to die." She then turned to us. "Cue Ball thought he was better 'cause he brought chocolate; he wasn't."

I slowly stood as Margret came over to me, and took out a knife. She walked behind me and cut my hands loose. I turned around to look at her, while rubbing my wrists. "It's good to see you too Margret," I said.

I then walked over to my guns and weapons, to put them back in their holsters. Taking out one knife, I walked back over to the others so I could cut them loose. After that was done and everyone had their weapons, I turned back to Margret. "Can you get us back to the meadow?" I asked.

Suddenly, I was pulled away to the side. Turning around, I found it was Tom. "What are you thinking?" he whispered harshly. "She's with Pope. Can we really trust her?"

"Do you trust me?" I countered.

"Yes, but-"

"Good, then do that," I cut him off. He looked confused, and I sighed. "Look, you don't have to trust her, just trust be; because I trust her with my life."

Tom looked at me, his eyes searching my face for something. He seemed to find it because he nodded at me. "Everyone take one of the other guns," he ordered. "We're going to use them against Pope." He looked to Margret. "Can you help Anne and bring all of the civilians here?" She nodded firmly.

Tom nodded back before gesturing for her to lead the way.

***Falling Earth***

When we got to the meadow, Pope and his men had the fifty, and were also taking the food. Before we left the school, we had taken the guns and ammo that Pope had left behind. We began to fire the guns at Pope and his men, ducking down when they fired back. Suddenly, we were being fired at by the fifty.

"Unload on the fifty!" Tom ordered. "Now!"

We all stood up, and started to fire at the fifty. When the guy fell, Tom shouted to cease fire, and we all ducked down.

"Can you hear me Pope?!" Tom called.

"My ears are still ringing, but yeah," Pope shouted back. "Those my own guns you're firing at me?"

"They are!"

"You better run Professor!"

"Ships are going to target the flares!" Tom countered. "You're in the middle of the flares!"

"What are my options?"

"Join or die!"

"Just like the Revolution!"

"Just like!"  
I focused my hearing on Pope. I heard him tap the door of the GTO to get the attention of his men. "I'll take the fifty, you follow close, and stay down," he said. "They can't shoot you if they can't see you."

I smirked at this. It wouldn't do much use against someone like me. Hearing sounds above me, I looked up to see the air ships flying above. They fired lights down, and hit inside the flares. After the blast light faded, I stood up to see that the fifty and Pope were gone and his men dead from the blast.

Tom got up and followed the tire trails, with us right behind him. We came out of the bushes to find the fifty parked, and Pope with his hands up and Dan pointing his rifle at him. Dan nodded at Tom, who nodded back. His eyes locked with mine, and I nodded telling him that I was okay.

***Falling Earth***

Everyone was bustling around the high school that we made our base. Tama and I were given our own room, right across from the Masons. I had heard that Margret was allowed to join the fighters. I was happy about that; hoping to get to talk to her more, and catch up. Pope was to be held as a prisoner.

Margret was going to lead us to the hospital. Apparently, she saw some harnessed kids over there. Tama walked with me to the front of the school. Tom was there playing a game of catch with his youngest son, Matthew, with lacrosse sticks.

Tama pulled me into a hug. "Be careful," she whispered.

I gave her a squeeze, and then released her. "I always am," I replied smiling. I then joined the others, walking down the street towards the hospital.


End file.
